Direct comparison
Cc By Vs Cc By Nc: Key Differences & Comparison | CASRAI
CC BY and CC BY-NC are both Creative Commons licences requiring attribution, but they differ on commercial reuse. CC BY allows any use, including commercial, with credit; CC BY-NC restricts use to non-commercial purposes. The distinction matters for Plan S compliance, where CC BY is the default and NC variants generally are not accepted.
Side-by-side comparison
| Dimension | CC BY | CC BY-NC |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Attribution | Attribution-NonCommercial |
| Attribution required | Yes — credit the creator | Yes — credit the creator |
| Commercial reuse | Allowed | Not allowed — non-commercial only |
| Adaptations | Allowed (must attribute) | Allowed for non-commercial purposes (must attribute) |
| Copyright retained | Yes — creator keeps copyright | Yes — creator keeps copyright |
| Reuse breadth | Maximal — fewest restrictions of the attribution licences | Narrower — excludes commercial use |
| Plan S compliance | Default required licence for funded OA articles | Generally not Plan S compliant for the version of record |
| Text/data mining | Permitted, including for commercial purposes | Permitted, but only for non-commercial purposes |
| Common use | Funder-mandated open-access articles and data | Where creators wish to limit commercial exploitation |
Common questions
FAQ
What is the main difference between CC BY and CC BY-NC?+
Both require attribution and let the creator keep copyright. The difference is commercial use: CC BY permits any reuse, including commercial, while CC BY-NC restricts reuse to non-commercial purposes.
Why does Plan S prefer CC BY over CC BY-NC?+
cOAlition S’s Plan S defaults to CC BY because it maximises the reuse that open access is meant to enable, including commercial reuse and unrestricted text- and data-mining. The NonCommercial restriction in CC BY-NC limits that reuse, so NC variants are generally not accepted for the version of record.
What counts as "non-commercial" under CC BY-NC?+
CC BY-NC restricts uses primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation. The boundary can be uncertain in practice, which is one reason funders favour the clearer, more permissive CC BY licence.
Going deeper
